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Food truck hopefuls grab first of new permits

Vendors showed up as early as 4 a.m. for the long-awaited permits — at over $5,000 each.

The city put 125 food-truck permits up for grabs on Thursday, but that includes 27 previously existing permits. Despite preparing for a rush, the municipal by 3:30 p.m. just six of the one-year permits had been sold.
(Jennifer Bain / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Ahmed Duale, owner and operator of the new food truck Kal and Mooy, was the third in line for a new permit Thursday. He’s planning to open for Saturday lunch near Harbourfront and will be offering several Somalian dishes.
(Bernard Weil / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Ahmed Duale wants to save Toronto from a life of hamburgers and French fries and he’s certain a taste of chicken samosas, a heaping of spicy rice or a bite of a sabaya (like shawarma) wrap will do the trick.

That’s why the Somalian-Canadian is taking his food to the streets.

But first he had to pay $5,067 for one of the city’s long-awaited food truck permits — a costly necessity.

“It’s not fair,” says Duale, but to get his food truck, Kal and Mooy, and others curbside, “we have no choice.”

Nobody knew quite what to expect when the permits first became available Thursday morning.

The trucks need to be at least 50 metres away from any restaurants and only two can operate on any block at once, for up to three hours a day.

“For $5,000 to have to circle a block a dozen times hoping for a spot to open, I just think that’s going to be an exercise in futility,” Smith says.

He plans to continue operating on private property with permission, at a variety of fairs and festivals, and in Green P Parking lots.

While truck operators can choose Smith’s route, Wayne Mattless, director of business licensing with the city, says the permits mean the city is “wide open to their business.”

Mattless says the department will report before council within a year.

“If we find issues that should be rectified then we can deal with it,” he says. “We can still have a conversation.”

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